According to the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2003-2005 data, 46 million U.S. adults have arthritis, a disease rising dramatically as the U.S. population ages. By 2030 the arthritis-afflicted U.S. population is expected to reach 67 million.

Phytochemicals, also called phytonutrients, are the next bit step in health. Over the past few years it seems like everybody is jumping on the phytochemical bandwagon! But just what are these phytochemicals?

Polysaccharides - we mention the word a lot in Nutritional Immunology; but what exactly are they?  Simply speaking polysaccharides (meaning 'many sugars') are complex carbohydrates. They are made up of many monosaccharides (single sugars) joined together by glycosidic bonds, which makes them very large, often branched, macromolecules (large molecules), amorphous, insoluble in water and with no sweet taste.

Through the food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe and the things we touch in our everyday lives, toxins enter our system. But the body has ways of eliminating the toxins that we take in.  These systems and organs can often cause us irritation while they do their job—runny noses, watery eyes, pimples, rashes, itching, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting, just to mention a few.

Western science has developed many drugs to help us with these irritating symptoms—often stopping the symptoms completely. That, however, leaves the body searching for another way to expel the toxins it has accumulated. Which leads to a vicious circle—stop one symptom, another begins; stop it, and yet another symptom crops up. How many drugs do you have to take before the body gives up and just starts letting toxins build up while the immune system shuts down?

An antioxidant is a molecule that is able to slow or prevent the oxidation of other molecules, neutralizing the negative effects of free radicals without damaging cells. There are literally hundreds of antioxidants in whole plant foods. As Nutritional Immunology teaches, eating natural whole plant foods is always the best way to feed your body the antioxidants, phytochemicals and polysaccharides needed to keep your immune system healthy and at its peak.

Panax ginseng—from the fruit to the root—is a superior herb for maintaining health.

Scientists have recently discovered that inflammation contributes to many conditions, such as heart disease, cancer, arthritis and diabetes, and are now trying to understand how to stem the tide of chronic inflammation. Their research has turned to traditional herbal remedies, and a basic principle of Nutritional Immunology—consume whole plant foods to provide the complete nutritional needs of the body.